Will a government traineeship scheme fly or will it fail?

Rachael Fidler of HTP Training

Letter of the day

FROM September this year 16 to 24-year-olds are to be offered work experience, lessons in English and maths, tips on CV-writing and advice on how to prepare for an interview all under the traineeships programme.

Funded by the Department for Education (DfE) and the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills, it forms part of a response to criticism from business leaders about poor skills levels among young people wanting to enter the workplace.

Traineeships should provide both work experience and the opportunity to learn within a structured programme.

As every candidate is different it will be important for the training provider to apply intelligence and experience to customise the programme.

The curriculum will need to fit the specific requirements of the young person while meeting the needs of the employer.

In order for traineeships to have value and attract young people out of unemployment they need to offer something that’s worth having at the end of it. An apprenticeship would be the most logical step.

However, if the young people, on benefits, cannot afford to take up the traineeship the whole concept is bound to fail before it starts.

For this reason I feel very strongly that the government needs to offer a traineeship allowance.

So, will traineeships fly or fail?

I think they will fly largely because they have to.

We have to find a way of getting these young people into work and to give them the opportunity to be the best that they can be.